Jumping-dial wrist-watch with date indicator

ABSTRACT

A digital watch with hours, minutes, seconds and date indicators, the hour indicator being eccentered to one side so that the date indicator can be concentric with the movement and located on the other side.

United States Patent Laesser Nov. 26, 1974 JUMPlNG-DIAL WRIST-WATCH WITH DATE INDICATOR [56] References Cited [75] Inventor: Jean Laesser, Villeret, Switzerland UNITED S TES PATENTS 1,450,996 4/1923 Varaud 58/128 [73] Asslgnee' E' Neuchatel 3,537,255 11 1970 Schneider 58/58 [22] Filed: Mar. 26, 1974 Primary ExaminerGeorge H. Miller, Jr; [21] AppL NO; 454,960 Attorney, Agent, or FirmSilverman & Cass, Ltd.

30 F A P D t [57] ABSTRACT orelgn pp f y a a A digital watch with hours, minutes, second and date 1973 sw'tzefland 4515/73 indicators, the hour indicator being eccentered to one side so that the date indicator can be concentric with 5 ii the movement and located on the other side. [58] Field of Search 58/4, 5, 5s 127 R, 128 1 Claim, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEL 2 6 4 FIG. 1

.IUMPING-DIAL WRIST-WATCH WITH DATE INDICATOR The present invention relates to a jumping-dial wristwatch comprising a resilient connecting member between the hour-wheel and the hours indicator, which is submitted to the action of a retaining member which, operated by a cam rigid with the minutes indicator, releases the said hours indicator once per hour, permitting it to make an instantaneous jump during which the next numeral of the hours numerals comes opposite a window for the reading of the hours.

Such wrist-watches are known per se. The addition, to these watches, of a date indicator constituted by an annular disc coaxial to the center of the movement gives raise to problems due to the fact that, if this disc has to be of a diameter higher than the diameter of the hours indicator, so as not to be masked by this latter, the diameter of the movement is too great for being suitable for a wrist-watch.

The object of the present invention is to furnish a solution to this problem.

The wrist-watch according to the invention is characterised by the fact that it comprises a date indicator constituted by an annular disc coaxial to the center of the movement, the hours indicator being constituted by a crown-shaped member innerly toothed, eccentered with respect to the centre of the movement, so as not to mask the date indicator, the inner toothing of the hours indicator meshing with a driving wheel coaxial to the center of the movement, connected to the said resilient device.

The drawing shows, by way of example, one embodiment of the object of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a portion of a jumping-dial wrist-watch.

FIG. 2 is an axial sectional view of a portion of the movement of this watch, at a larger scale, and

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a portion of this movement, at a scale intermediary between the scales of FIGS. 1 and 2.

The wrist-watch represented comprises a casing the bezel l of which has its opening 2 having a rectangular general shape through which appears a dial 3. This dial is provided with a first window 4 in which appear the numerals 5 of an hours indicator constituted by an annular crown 6 and with a second window 7 in which appear the date indications 8 carried by an annular crown 9. In a free space which is not covered by the dial, situated between the center of the watch and the window 4, appear partially a disc 10 carrying the indications ll of the minutes and a disc 12 carrying the indications 13 of the seconds.

The movement comprises a hour-wheel 14 (FIG. 2) coaxial to the center of the movement and which drives, by means of a non represented setting-wheel, a cannonpinion I5 carrying the minutes disc 10. The seconds disc 12 is carried by the center second shaft 16 the end of which has only been represented.

The date crown 9,, coaxial to the center of the movement, is innerly toothed and is operated by a driving mechanism,'not represented, known per se, driven by a wheel 17 rigid with the hour-wheel l4 and a control member of which acts, once per 24 hours, on the said inner toothing of the indicator 9.

So as not to mask the date indicator 9, the annular crown 6 constituting the hours indicator is eccentered with respect to the center of the movement, its center being indicated at 18 in FIG. 3. This crown 6 is provided with an inner toothing 6a meshing with a driving wheel 19, coaxial to the center of the movement, rotatably mounted on a disc 20, rotating with the hourwheel 14, and which is provided with a cover 21 secured by means of screws 22.

The driving wheel 19 of the hours indicating crown 6 is connected to the disc 20 by means of a hair-spring 23 the inner end of which is secured to the hub 20a of the disc 20 and the outer end of which carries a finger 24 passing through a passage 25 provided in the rim, designated by 20b, of the disc 20 and which is engaged in a radial slot 26 of the wheel 19.

The crown 6 of the hours indicator is provided with twelve peripheral teeth 6a with which cooperates a catch 27a of a resilient retaining lever 27, secured at 28 to the frame of the movement, the end of which is provided with a peen 271; with which cooperates a protrusion 10a (FIG. 3), once per revolution, of the minutes disc 10.

Owing to the present arrangement, the hours crown 6 is normally retained by the lever 27, the spring 23 bending itself during the rotation of the hour-wheel 14. Once per hour, the protrusion 10a of the minutes disc I0 moves the lever 27, that releases the crown 6 which advances then of one step, bringing the next numeral of the hours numerals 5 opposite the window 4 of reading of the hours. The displacements of the crown 6 are limited by the length of the passage 25 provided in the rim 20b of the disc 20, in which moves itself the finger 24.

Thus, owing to the fact that the hours indicating crown 6 is eccentered with respect to the center of the movement, the two windows 4 and 7- of reading of the hours and. of the dates, respectively, can be situated at the same distance from the center of the movement without the indicator of one of them masking the indicator of the other one.

In the case where the crown 6 would carry 24 hours numerals instead of 12, it would then comprise 24 teeth 6a and not 12.

What I claim is:

l'. A jumping-dial wrist-watch with date indicator comprising a resilient connecting member between the hour-wheel and the hours indicator, which is submitted to the action of a retaining member which, operated by a cam rigid with the minutes indicator, releases the said hours indicator once per hour, permitting it to make an instantaneous jump during which the next numeral of the hours numerals comes opposite a window for the reading of the hours, said date indicator being constituted by an annular disc coaxial to the center of the movement, the hours indicator being constituted by a crown-shaped member innerly toothed, eccentered with respect to the center of the movement, so as not to mask the date indicator, the inner toothing of the hours indicator meshing with a driving wheel which is coaxial to the center of the movement and connected to the said resilient device. 

1. A jumping-dial wrist-watch with date indicator comprising a resilient connecting member between the hour-wheel and the hours indicator, which is submitted to the action of a retaining member which, operated by a cam rigid with the minutes indicator, releases the said hours indicator once per hour, permitting it to make an instantaneous jump during which the next numeral of the hours numerals comes opposite a window for the reading of the hours, said date indicator being constituted by an annular disc coaxial to the center of the movement, the hours indicator being constituted by a crown-shaped member innerly toothed, eccentered with respect to the center of the movement, so as not to mask the date indicator, the inner toothing of the hours indicator meshing with a driving wheel which is coaxial to the center of the movement and connected to the said resilient device. 